Wawa

Wawa is continuing its Sunshine State expansion with plans for a new store on Clark Road.

Commercial building permits filed Wednesday call for $888,000 worth of construction for a new 6,119-square-foot Wawa just northeast of Clark Road and Honore Avenue near Baer’s Furniture. That intersection is also home to a Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Jimmy John’s, Chick-fil-A and a Marathon gas station.

The Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain known for its touchscreen ordering and deli-style sandwich counters has been busy in Southwest Florida since it opened its first store here in 2014. The restaurant-like chain has opened eight stores in the Sarasota-Bradenton area and has at least two more locations in the works in Manatee County. Plans also are moving forward for a location in Nokomis.

While much of brick-and-mortar retail has struggled in recent years, convenience stores have weathered the new retail climate better than some. Wawa isn’t the only one making moves in this market. RaceTrac, Wawa’s major Southwest Florida competitor, has been refurbishing stores in the area and Rally, a Tampa Bay area-based convenience store chain, has opened its first Manatee County location at Lockwood Ridge Road and University Parkway.

So it’s no surprise that convenience stores are muscling up as much of brick-and-mortar retail is withering.

As players like Radio Shack, Staples and Macy’s, among others, close hordes of stores, Pennsylvania-based Wawa is steadily blanketing our region with its hoagie-making, burrito-wrapping food counters and its islands of prepackaged salads and snacks. The chain has launched eight of these restaurant-like stores in our region since the first one opened in 2014, and it’s showing no sign of slowing down.

Meanwhile Atlanta-based RaceTrac also has been upping its game. The store near the Jacaranda Boulevard and Interstate 75 interchange spruced itself up a bit just about the time Wawa announced plans to open right next door.

Earlier this year, RaceTrac overhauled its store at Fruitville Road and Interstate 75 and brought in a counter for fresh-made wraps, sandwiches and pizza. This replaced the Speedy Avocado Mexican grill counter it had, and the new model vaguely resembles Wawa’s food counter.

We’ve entered into a gas station arms race of sorts, and what’s happening locally is just a mild glimpse into the national landscape.

U.S. convenience stores in 2016 welcomed a record-breaking $233 billion in in-store sales, and prepared, commissary food, hot, cold and dispensed beverages made up 21 percent of that total, according to data released this week from the National Association of Convenience Stores.

It’s not that convenience stores aren’t feeling some of retail’s agony. Despite those encouraging sales, the industry’s operating expenses outpaced in-store sales profits, according to the report.

Things like health care expenses, franchise fees, supplies and repairs upset what should have been cause for celebration. On top of that, as the cost at the pump dropped, the industry saw a 9.2 percent decline in fuel sales even as the volume of gas sold increased. In this post-Great Recession economy people are spending more money on experiences and that means many of them are driving more.

There were clearly some profit hiccups, but the demand for these services is there. Wawa and RaceTrac don’t have to beg anyone to come into their stores with coupons or clearance sales. They just have to be there. That’s why we’re still seeing growth.

E-commerce giant Amazon.com and online sales in general have shifted the way we shop. To survive, retail has to be able to do what the internet cannot, which is why Macy’s and Staples and so many others are hurting. There’s a now factor that comes with convenience stores that not even Amazon.com one-day shipping can challenge.

Consumers don’t buy beer, chips or batteries at a convenience store because they have the best deal or selection. They typically shop there because it’s the quickest stop they can make or they’re filling up their gas tanks anyway.

But that “now” factor doesn’t make Wawa and RaceTrac entirely untouchable.

As convenient as these stores are, their lines can back up. It can take more than a few minutes to buy those batteries or that hoagie, and Amazon already has plans to rival that.

The e-commerce giant this year is piloting a 1,800 square-foot, brick-and-mortar store in Seattle where customers can walk-in, pickup items and walk-out without having to go through a traditional checkout.

While I don’t see something like that trickling down into Southwest Florida’s convenience store arms race anytime soon, like most retail innovations — it’s only a matter of time. This immunity may not last forever.

The Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain that’s known for its deli-style sandwich counters and prepared foods section is planning a store at the southwest corner of U.S. 41 and Albee Road, according to commercial building permits filed on Friday with Sarasota County. Documents indicate $888,000 worth of construction at the site. A Hilton Home2 Suites is also under construction at that intersection.

The company on Thursday also filed commercial building permits in Manatee County for a location on Cortez Road West, just east of 26th St. W.

Wawa has opened seven other stores in the area since it opened its first in Bradenton in December 2014. The chain has two locations in Venice and is moving forward with Sarasota stores. The company made its first move into the Sunshine State in 2012, and it now has more than 100 stores in Florida.

The convenience chain’s menu features a wide variety of hoagies, plus mac and cheese, wraps, burritos, milkshakes and coffee beverages.

RaceTrac is upping its game with a made-to-order deli at its gas station and convenience store near the Fruitville Road and Interstate 75 interchange.

This new concept is comparable to the food counter at RaceTrac’s competitor, Wawa, and features sandwiches, wraps, smoothies and all-day breakfast items.

Guests customize and order their meals on a touchscreen and then can watch store staff prepare their food. The deli arrived about four weeks ago, according to store staff, and replaced the convenience store’s Speedy Avocado Mexican grill.

The Fruitville Road location is one of only three RaceTrac delis in Florida and one of about 10 in the country, store staff said.

RaceTrac rival Wawa has been expanding rapidly in the Sunshine State. Southwest Florida next month will welcome its eighth Wawa with the opening of its second Venice location at 2970 Executive Drive.

The gas station and convenience store at 2970 Executive Drive, just south of the Interstate 75 and Jacaranda Boulevard interchange, will be the eighth Wawa to open in Southwest Florida. The Pennsylvania-based chain has expanded aggressively in Florida since it launched its first store here in 2012. The company now operates more than 100 stores in the Sunshine State.

Wawa is known for having a fiercely loyal customer base, cheap gas and a sandwich-shop-style food counter. The convenience chain’s menu features a wide variety of hoagies, mac and cheese, wraps, burritos, milkshakes and coffee beverages.

The grand opening will include giveaways, discounts and promotions. Other Wawas in the area typically have offered 10 days of free coffee as a way to welcome customers to new stores. A ribbon cutting is slated for 10 a.m.

The Jacaranda interchange has seen significant growth in recent years. The area is also home to RaceTrac and Speedway gas stations as well as a McDonald’s, a Dunkin Donuts and hotels.

Two high profile brands, Whole Foods Market and Wawa ,will make up the proposed shopping plaza, University Station, coming to the southwest corner of University Parkway and Honore Avenue.

Rezoing paperwork filed with Sarasota County shows that SJ Collins Enterprises, the Atlanta-based commercial developer behind the plaza, will build a 40,148-square-foot Whole Foods Market grocery store and an additional 10,000 square feet of in-line shops near Honore Avenue. A Wawa gas station will be positioned off University Parkway.

The new grocery store will likely open in 18 months to two years from now, Whole Foods officials said.

This is the second supermarket to open in the region by the upscale grocer, which has operated a busy and profitable supermarket on First Street in downtown Sarasota since 2004.

Some nearby residents worry that having two well known brands, like Whole Foods and Wawa, which are known to have cult-like followings for their products, will generate even more traffic on the growing University Parkway commercial corridor. In February, SJ Collins agreed to provide a traffic analysis to determine what kind of traffic impact the proposed plaza would have on that area.

The plans for the shopping center, called University Station, will have three shared traffic access points: a right turn in/right turn out access from University Parkway, a right turn in/right turn out access from Honore Avenue and a traffic signal on Honore Avenue.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Cars swarmed the parking lot and pump station at the brand new Wawa near downtown Bradenton Thursday morning as the Pennsylvania-based chain made its debut in the Southwest Florida market.

The brand new store at 701 1st St. E., in Bradenton is the first Wawa gas station and convenience store to open in Manatee County, and south of St. Petersburg on the Gulf Coast. Cars jammed underneath the red and white Wawa awning, waiting their turn to fill up at the pump for $2.25 per gallon for regular gasoline. Landscapers filled lawnmower gas tanks and others filled their cars and then a couple of separate gas canisters for later.

“I knew the gas was going to be crazy cheap!” shouted one Bradenton area resident as they filled up.

Diesel fuel sold for $3.09 a gallon and ethanol boat fuel sold for $3.29 a gallon on Thursday.

For Ken Degaetano, the opening of the new Wawa was sort of a homecoming.

“I grew up in Philly, so I remember Wawa well,” Degaetano said while filling his car with gas and clutching a hot cup of coffee from inside. “I grew up eating Wawa hoagies. It’s great to have them here now.”

“The prices are definitely the cheapest I’ve seen around here in a while, which is awesome,” he added.

Just a few blocks south, the Racetrac gas station was selling gas for $2.41 a gallon for regular gasoline. The competitor’s station was busy, but not buzzing as much as the new Wawa.

Cars fighting for spots at the pump. Reg gas is $2.25 a gallon at the new Wawa in Bradenton.

Wawa staff wandered around inside the store with free samples – from coffee to hoagies to smoothies – as first time customers gathered at the cashier counters with goods in hand. The cigarette cashier was easily the longest check out line inside.

At 10 a.m. Wawa hosted a hoagie building contest, which pitted Manatee County area firefighters against local police officers. Each team was fighting for a trophy and Wawa made donations to charities of their choice.

The Suncoast Mummers String Band also performed as part of the lively grand opening celebration.

To celebrate their entrance into the market, Wawa is giving away coffee for free its first 10 days. Shoppers can also save when ordering the “Shortie,” a six-inch hoagie, which is priced at $2.99 for the store’s first 10 days.

New customers check out the inside of the Wawa station in Bradenton.

James Wagner and friend Michael Doxie, both from Palmetto, happened to be in the area Thursday morning and decided to stop by.

“I’ve been to one in St. Pete and really liked it,” Wagner said while drinking coffee. “They’ve got decent food and cheap gas. What’s not to like?”

Doxie, a snowbird who spends half the year in Lake George, N.Y., wasn’t a newcomer to Wawa.

“It seems like it’s going to be a busy station,” Doxie said. “I’ve been watching the Bradenton area grow for years now. This is a nice addition.”

Wawa has been expanding aggressively throughout Florida since they opened their first location in the state in July 2012. The chain has been opening 25 stores a year for the last two years in the Sunshine State and plans to expand into Sarasota, Daytona and Fort Myers next.

Two more stores in Manatee County, at 4455 State Road 64 and 5310 14th St. W., are expected to open around the middle of 2015.

The chain has submitted plans for three Sarasota stores, too, though it’s unclear if those will open next year.

Sarasota sites are proposed at the northwest corner of U.S. 301 and Myrtle Street, University Parkway at the southwest corner of Honore Avenue, and at Tamiami Trail and Englewood Road in Venice.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Southwest Florida’s first Wawa opened to the public on Thursday in Bradenton. More are on the way – the gas station and convenience store chain has plans to open two more in Manatee County next year, and three in Sarasota County in the near future.

Interested in being apart of the What’s in Store video series? Pitch your story ideas to Justine directly by emailing her here.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.